MSH: Maple Story Heroes
by Ceillising
Summary: The events that occured before MSK. Includes: Tiger, Suuushi, Fangblade, Curryishott, Korwyn, Starlightzz, Novinha, Imphigenia, Shynobi, NeoJunker, Mecate, Heroine, Keturah, Dolob, Loopedd, AnhRau, 1LastBreath, VietxHue, kittyz0r, Salleem, Hydrange, etc.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Dang, those were some nice kargos," Salleem smiled. Salleem, Tiger, and Hirarii returned to Henseys after a long day training at wild kargos in Sleepywood.

"At this rate, we'll be lvl70 and will get our 3rd jobs in no time," Tiger agreed. He was very eager to become strong quickly. Salleem on the other hand just took his time. Hirarii, in addition, enjoyed every second of her life. Half way during their training she had picked up three crystals. After asking a friend, she realized that they were extremely rare ores but did not want to sell them. Instead, she engraved one's name on the stone with the tip of her sword and gave one to each of her friends.

"It's more of a friendship thing," Hirarii stated. Every day the three would wear those crystals even if they were not seeing each other that day. A few weeks later, Tiger made an announcement.

"I'm going to immigrate to Scania for good," he admitted.

"What? Why would you go there?" Salleem argued. Hirarii was just ask shocked but she kept her mouth closed.

"Dude, if I want to become the best, then I'll have a better chance in Scania. Besides, that's where Suuushi is and maybe she can help train me. Bera's market prices are too high anyways." Salleem didn't argue back because they were all true facts. Tiger did want to become the best, even better than Lady Suuushi.

"Then…take my stone," Hirarii spoke as she removed the beautiful gem from around her neck and looped it over Tiger. "No matter what, just remember who your friends are; don't get too carried away and over-work yourself."

"Heh don't worry Hirarii," Tiger laughed. "I'll never forget you guys. By the way, I hope you'll become a great crusader just as you were a bowman."

"Remember, you can't tell anyone about that," Hirarii warned. "Who knows what will happen."

"Of course."

"And if anything happens, I'll be sure to protect you in Tiger's place," Salleem added. Hirarii laughed; Salleem was the one who would need protection. One early morning, the three snuck into the forbidden area that contained the portal to other dimensions. The guards were about to go on their break and left the area unguarded for less than a minute before their replacements came. They quietly waved goodbye once they guards left and Tiger jumped into the portal unseen.


	2. PART I Tiger

**PART I TIGER**

Chp 1 Five Years Later

Five years later, Tiger's dream was accomplished. He had become good friends with Suuushi who offered him training. Suuushi was a helpful girl and did not care whether Tiger would surpass her or not. She did not work to gain her title for the fame, but to help the weak. However, rumors had spread that Tiger had used Suuushi and that led to hatred towards him worldwide. Behind Tiger was Bera's first successor, Shynobi. Shynobi simply fought for his own pleasure and didn't have a goal except to give Bera the fame. He did not like Scanians for a reason that no one may ever know.

As each month passed, new heroes would rise. Shynobi and Suuushi only kept up their place for a few more months, but Tiger held on all the way. His new competitor became AnhRau, the first legal Scanian Dragon Knight. (Tiger pretended to be a 100% legit Scanian) Following him was 1LastBreath, the first successful fire mage who was also a Scanian. VietxHue and Hydrange then proceeded. For a long time, it seemed as if no one will ever beat Tiger and that he will become the first to reach lvl200. But one day, a man named Curryishott challenged him and Tiger lost.

Because of that, people become more motivated in surpassing Tiger and after a year, Tiger fell to the third rank and then the fifth. Tiger gave up. He could not catch up and he could not take the pressure anymore. At the same time he fell from his rank, his father had passed away and his girlfriend, Kittyzor, had left him. On top of that, the media was constantly putting pressure on him and he encountered countless stalkers. Everywhere he would go he would either be laughed at or accused for nothing. He could not run to Suuushi for help or comfort, for she had quit for good.

One day, Kittyzor went to talk to Tiger. She said she had felt guilty about the whole thing and wanted to help him regain his title. She claimed to know a secret that will help him. With no other alternative, Tiger followed her inside the clock tower of Ludi.

"Now, close your eyes Tiger…and make a wish," Kittyzor spoke. Tiger closed his eyes and thought about being number one again, but Kittyzor had betrayed him. By some unknown ability, she was able to possess Tiger and erase his memory. All Tiger thought of now was killing people.

"That's right dear," Kittyzor smirked. "Now go regain your title and kill everyone who dares to try and stop you."

"Yes…master."

Chp 2 In Bera

In Bera, Hirarii and Salleem were close to applying for their 4th job. Although they were only about twenty levels apart from Tiger, they were definitely not as strong. They did keep track of their beloved friend who sneaked into Scania five years ago and they feel so proud. However, Salleem felt a little jealously because his cousin had become number one and his friend was able to fight using two different job abilities. In fact, Hirarii was close to mastering 1st job thievery and that made Salleem feel even weaker. Hirarii kept encouraging him to try hard though. She believed that her ability to do multiple skills was more of a curse than a gift. She doesn't know anyone else who can do the same thing and doesn't' want to start a new conspiracy.

A week later, Hirarii called up Salleem to see if he wanted to visit Korean Town with her. He did not respond and she assumed that he was busy doing his own thing. But another week had passed and she got no response. Salleem's home was empty, and his friends said that they don't know where he was either. Hirarii began searching herself and found no trace of him. Then she called officials to search for Salleem and two days later, they found his body lying near Sleepywood. The autopsy did not reveal his cause of death and officials concluded that he most likely committed suicide by suffocating himself. Hirarii knew better; she would not believe that her friend would commit suicide. As evidence, she found Salleem's crystal lying in another location with the string broken. He must've been running away from something but no one believed her. Then, Hirarii decided to go tell Tiger herself.

She did not attempt to sneak into the portal of dimensions. Hirarii directly went up to the guards and demanded to let her pass. Usually only the strong were allowed to pass or people with special admission and Hirarii was neither of them and therefore they did not let her pass.

"This is an emergency," Hirarii growled. "I need to see Tiger."

"I'm sorry Madam, but fans are not allowed to pass," the guard responded.

"Fan? I'm not a fan! I'm his best friend and I need to tell him that his cousin died!" Hirarii yelled back. Then she took the crystal from her pocket. "Look at this! Don't tell me that you don't know Tiger has the exact same crystal around his neck."

"Actually I do madam, but I'm afraid I still cannot let you pass." Hirarii was prepared to attack even though she wasn't as strong as the guards. Just as she was about to draw her sword, a man behind her placed his hand on her shoulder gently.

"Please let her pass," he spoke to the guards. "She's under my permission to."

"Yes, Your Honor," they both saluted. Hirarii looked up, and the man's face was concealed with a steel helmet.

"Thank you, sir," Hirarii smiled, not caring what he looked like anyways.

"Now go," he continued. "Don't you have something important to do in Scania?" Hirarii nodded and immediately left. She did not know who he was until later on when she found Tiger.

Chp3 Tiger Was Hard to Find

Tiger was hard to find, and so were most of the people. The streets were empty and occasionally there was blood splattered everywhere. Hirarii was not frightened, but she knew something was not right. She then met one person, who also seemed to be investigating the situation by analyzing the blood through his fingertips. Surprisingly it was VietxHue. Hirarii ran over quickly to ask him if he knew where Tiger was.

"You're Viet, correct?" Hirarii asked. "Then you must know where Tiger is."

"Tiger?" Viet looked up. "Well I kinda do, and I don't. I'm actually looking for him myself. But anyways, a girl like you shouldn't be out here at a time like this. Can't you see the warnings from all this blood?"

"It doesn't scare me; I just need to find Tiger as soon as possible." Viet stopped researching the blood and stared at Hirarii.

"You're not from here are you?"

"No, I'm a Beran."

"No wonder you're so determined. I didn't think a fan would go through so much trouble just to see Tiger. Geez its getting ridiculous these days…"

"I'm not a stalker! I'm…" Hirarii ranted, but Viet got a text message and ignored her speech.

"Kay, whatever. Just find some shelter and stay there. Scania's getting bloody recently." With that said, he ran off in another direction. Hirarii assumed that he got a new trace on Tiger and followed him as much as she could. Unfortunately, thieves were much faster than warriors and she lost his trail quickly. The numerous trees in Sleepywood also affected her tracking. Hirarii gave up temporarily and sat in the town.

An hour later, she heard explosions, the sign of an intense battle. She followed the sound and reached the source within seconds. There was a rough battle occurring between a Fire Mage battling a Dragon Knight. They were both too strong and interrupting their battle would lead to sudden death. The Dragon Knight won, smashing his opponent into the forest and trapping him within the fallen timber.

"Are you alright?" Hirarii asked him. His opponent had lost sight of him after that attack and he had a small amount of time to recover.

"Yea, just get out of here kid," he whispered.

"Oh, you're 1LastBreath," Hirarii stared and he nodded back. Hirarii handed him his wand that dropped a few feet away. At the same time he grabbed it she used her healing ability and transferred the power to him.

"Woah, how did you do that?" he asked surprised. "You sure don't look like a cleric." Then his opponent had found him and landed on the ground meters away, prepared to attack again.

"Run now!" 1LastBreath yelled. Hirarii didn't budge. Instead she got up and walked closer to him.

"It's okay, I know him," she replied.

"He'll kill you!" 1LastBreath warned again.

"No, Tiger would never kill anyone," Hirarii smiled, but Tiger's face was blank and he did not move nor respond.

"Tiger, it's been a while," Hirarii began. "You're number one now; everyone loves you, but sadly Salleem and I are still far from your level."

"Everyone hates me, I must destroy them," Tiger responded. She walked closer to him.

"What are you talking about? We're still your friends. But actually I came to tell you that Salleem died a few weeks ago. They think he committed suicide but I believe he was murdered. Tiger, I sure hope you're not part of this conspiracy."

"I don't have any friends," Tiger blinked. "And guess what…" He swiftly whirled around and stabbed Hirarii from behind. Hirarii flinched.

"…I am part of this…"

Chp 4 Her Iron Wall

Her iron wall ability slightly protected her from Tiger's fatal attack. In addition, she healed the rest of her own wound and continued her speech.

"Tiger, what's wrong with you?" Hirarii wailed and shook him hard. "Does this mean thing to you at all? Have you forgotten?" She grabbed onto the two crystals dangling on Tiger's chest. Tiger was lifeless and then she decided to take out Salleem's necklace.

"Are you saying you killed your own cousin?" she continued. "Snap out of it, Tiger! I didn't come all the way to Scania just to get murdered by you! Please keep your promise…"

"…Salleem…" Tiger mumbled. Hirarii blinked and 1LastBreath stared in amazement.

"What's going on?" he asked. Hirarii didn't know the answer herself but Tiger seemed to recover from whatever it was.

"…Uh…Hirarii?" Tiger stared. "Wow, you're so tall now."

"Tiger, are you ok?" she asked.

"Yea…What are you doing here?" he wondered. "…and what am I doing here?"

"Busy attacking me, that's what," 1LastBreath coughed. He was still stuck underneath the fallen trees.

"Why would I attack you?"

"I have no idea."

"At least you're ok," Hirarii sighed and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry I let Salleem die."

"It's not your fault," Tiger frowned. "I'll make sure I find the one responsible for it."

"Hey guys, LOOK OUT!" 1LastBreath yelled. They whirled around and there was a dark streak of lightning approaching at full speed. Tiger reacted first and pushed Hirarii away, but was hit by the lightning.

"Don't be a fool Tiger," a voice called out. "You already know the one responsible for it." Tiger was twitching from the impact of the attack and Hirarii's healing couldn't help at all.

"So it's you, Kittyzor," 1LastBreath growled. "Why would you target Tiger?"

"He's so fragile and yet he's such a good fighter," Kittyzor laughed. "He wants to become stronger, so I'm giving him his wish."

"You fucking bit-"

"Tiger, attack them now." Tiger pushed aside Hirarii, but she held up a resistance. Now she was willing to fight to save her own best friend. Tiger attacked with no mercy, and Hirarii could block most of it. However, attacking back was useless because they were nothing towards Tiger. Hirarii could not win under any circumstance and ended up just like 1LastBreath. Tiger was about to finish her off for good, but then his spear was knocked out of his hands and was thrown back hundreds of meters.

"Take 1LastBreath and get out of here," the man called.

"It's you…"Hirarii groaned.

"Fangblade…out of all people…" 1LastBreath rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I'm not leaving sir," Hirarii rejected and stood strong behind him.

"You don't stand a chance, now leave," Fangblade replied straightforward.

"If I can't save my best friend, then I might as well burn in hell."

"Berans are so stubborn," 1LastBreath joked. Fangblade sighed and freed 1LastBreath himself and commanded that they leave. 1LastBreath trusted Fangblade, and took Hirarii, who didn't have enough energy to resist, with him to safety.

"They'll be alright," 1LastBreath reassured her. "Fangblade's pretty strong, especially for a Beran."

"What do you Scanians have against Berans?" Hirarii glared.

"Just about everything," he joked.

"Do you guys need some help?" a voice asked. She did not seem like the kind of person who liked to fight.

"Hey Hydrange," 1LastBreath greeted. "Just her, I'm ok."

"Wow, throwing a poor girl out there as bait. You're such a coward," Hydrange sighed and began a healing process.

"Actually, she's the one who healed me," he admitted. "I told her to run but like I said, Berans are stubborn."

"Huh, but you're a crusader aren't you, dear?" Hydrange asked.

"Umm…well…" Hirarii mumbled. She didn't want to answer her. Hydrange tried to cheer her up.

"That's ok, you can do multiple job abilities can't you?" she smiled. Hirarii jumped.

"How did you…"

"Don't worry; you're not the only one. I felt the same way when I found out too. There's just a few of us who can do it, but it's not something you should regard as a bad thing." Hirarii was silent; she felt a little better but was more concerned about Tiger.

"He'll be fine," Hydrange guessed. "We're all working on saving Tiger."

"That girl, Kittyzor, who was she? Hirarii asked.

"Kittyzor?" Hydrange gasped. 1LastBreath took a deep breath.

"I'll explain later when Fangblade comes back," he spoke. "Let's return to the main headquarters."

Chp 5 AnhRau Stood

AnhRau stood guarding the hidden entrance to the headquarters. They explained to him that Fangblade was out fighting Tiger, and Anh sighed in relief.

"He's the only one left besides you guys who haven't arrived yet," Anh explained. Apparently many people were called into Scania to help rescue Tiger. Originally they were called to stop the massacre but once they found out that Tiger was involved, Beran heroes were called in. At the underground headquarters, there were nearly fifteen members present. Because she followed Tiger's ranking, Hirarii knew most of them including VietxHue from earlier that day and Shynobi and NeoJunker who were from Bera. There was only one Broan present and that was Dragon Knight Korwyn who wasn't that popular at all. Anh gestured for everyone to sit, including Hirarii. He began discussing the basics of the issue until Fangblade arrived.

"I didn't think the famous Tiger would go to the other side," Fangblade spat. "I'll make sure this ends right now."

"Perhaps you should call your little friends for help," Kittyzor teased. "A lonely Dragon Knight like you wouldn't last a minute."

"And what part might you have in this?"

"You won't need to know that. Now Tiger, finish him."

"Yes, master," Tiger responded. Fangblade fought Tiger for a few minutes, but knew that wasn't the plan. Although he was equally matched, he fled from the battle cleverly without them knowing which direction he ran off in. Kittyzor was pissed, but figured that he would return eventually and continued towards her destination.

"So glad you could join us Fangblade," Anh noted when Fangblade entered the room. "However, you know you were supposed to come directly here, right?"

"If I did then two more would've died by now," Fangblade stated. Anh sighed, knowing that he was right.

"Anyways as we all know now, Tiger's a part of this massacre with an unknown motive," Anh continued. "According to 1LastBreath, Tiger seems to be possessed by his ex-girlfriend, Kittyzor. Kittyzor isn't known to have much power so she must be getting it from someone else. We don't have any traces that could lead us to the main person responsible for this. Does anyone have any idea who she might have associated with?" The environment remained silent. Then Anh turned to Fangblade.

"Do you have a proposed tactic?" he asked. Although Fangblade was not well-known yet, he had presented amazing battle strategies that AnhRau admired.

"Of course," Fangblade responded. "With thirteen of us and two of them, it shouldn't be that complicated. But I can't guarantee any success since I don't know how good of a fighter Kittyzor is now with darkness on her side."

"We will accept your best efforts sir," Anh respected. Fangblade described his desired plan. Since he did research on all the members previously, he knew all their capabilities and weaknesses and organized each individual so that they matched perfectly with another. He then created two groups: the Alpha Knights and the Beta Knights. They were not divided according to their rankings but rather for variety. The Alpha Knights consisted of Curryishott, Novinha, Starlightzz, Korwyn, Hirarii, and Fangblade himself. The Beta Knights included Suuushi, AnhRau, 1LastBreath, Hydrange, Imphigenia, VietxHue, Shynobi, and NeoJunker. Fangblade's tactic was pretty simple: Suuushi's group will divide according to the strengths of their opponents. For example, if Kittyzor was more powerful than Tiger, then five out of the four Beta Knights would fight Kittyzor. The Alpha Knights were to be on standby and would unleash the final blow when the enemy was not looking. No one held any objections and the plan was to be carried out first thing the next morning.

Chp 6 Imphigenia

Imphigenia crawled to Hirarii that night in their uncomfortable sleeping area which consisted of grass, leaves, and big roots to use as pillows.

"Hi there," she smiled. Hirarii greeted back. "Dang, I never thought I would see another Hero in my life, on top of that a female one too." Hirarii laughed.

"Yea, Fighters are scarce these days," Hirarii agreed. The lack of female warriors gave the wrong impression that girls were weak. Imphigenia, Hirarii and Novinha were the only female warriors any of the guys ever saw.

"It's nice that you're helping out," Imphigenia complimented. "Though, I'd have to disagree with Fangblade for putting a young Crusader out there. But he says you have the ability too and can help a lot."

"So you can use other abilities too?  
"Yea, I can work with all three forms of warriors: Spearman, Fighter, and Page. I'm also a pretty decent Bandit."

"Oh, I'm mainly just a Fighter and a Hunter."

"But I heard you healed 1LastBreath, and you could use Iron Wall too." Hirarii blushed.

"You must be good at everything; no wonder FangBlade wants you to fight."

"She may be able to do everything, but then it's pointless if she doesn't know how to use it properly," Shynobi interrupted.

"Don't be so cold man," NeoJunker laughed. "Don't worry; he's just a bit jealous he can't do as many abilities perfectly as you can. We're all friends around here. After all, the three of us plus FangBlade are the only ones from Bera."

"Oh shut up Neo; why would I be jealous of a little Beran Fighter?"

"What did you just call me?" Hirari roared.

"Quiet down over there," Viet yelled. "Some of us are actually trying to sleep."

"And if you don't shut it, then we're going to lose tomorrow," 1LastBreath added. They stopped arguing, but their relationship did not improve. Imphigenia said that Shynobi's always like that and Hirarii did not accept it as an excuse. When that morning came, the Beta Knights immediately tracked down Kittyzor. She was not surprised, only shocked to see how many bothered to go against her.

"What's your motive, Kittyzor," Suuushi demanded. "Why do you use the power of darkness to kill others?"

"Simply to build a better world, Your Honor," Kittyzor smirked. "I must get rid of those existing problems such as yourself to reach my goal."

"I knew she wasn't a good girl," 1LastBreath mumbled to himself. "She used Tiger."

"Ay, that's always the problem when you're famous isn't it?" NeoJunker sighed. "You can't tell who really loves you for being yourself."

"You're wrong," Hydrange interrupted. "Kittyzor did love Tiger, until she made a contract with the devil. Now she's like _this_."

"I can't allow any of you to interrupt this reconstruction," Kittyzor continued. "I'll give you the chance to back out now."

"As if," Suuushi spat. 1LastBreath couldn't stand her anymore and jumped in to attack her first. Right when he was about to unleash a direct hit, a spear fell from the sky and punctured him right through the heart. Hydrange shrieked in terror and everyone else suddenly jumped back.

"What a fool," Kittyzor giggled.

"Suuushi come in, what's going on?" Fangblade asked through her headset.

"1LastBreath…he…" Suuushi staggered. She then swallowed and regained stability before speaking again. "1LastBreath has fallen, sir. Tiger has entered the perimeter." As soon as Tiger dropped down from above and removed his spear from 1LastBreath's lifeless body, AnhRau punched him in the stomach and sent him flying several meters.

"Let's go Shynobi," NeoJunker called.

"Right," Shynobi agreed. Hydrange then followed him as everyone else went for Kittyzor. Kittyzor never attacked but was never hit either. The others also spontaneously missed Tiger. Far away, the Alpha Knights grew tense, wondering if FangBlade's strategy will work. Some begged to go out there and take 1LastBreath's place, but no matter what, FangBlade refused and hoped to get good news from the next transmission.

Chp 7 There Was No Progress

There was no progress coming from either side of the battle. Although Tiger could wipe out all of them easily, they outnumbered him greatly and also made him confused about who to attack first. Kittyzor was proven to be a weak fighter, but great at running away since she was a cleric. Even if she was hurt, she could heal herself fast.

The most epic moment occurred when Tiger finally defeated one of his opponents, AnhRau. Hydrange had froze Tiger using her ice powers and AnhRau broke the ice. However, they didn't know that Tiger wasn't in that block of ice, allowing enough time to stab Anh from the back. The world's second greatest person was now dead and Fangblade then asked Korwyn, also being a spearman, to take his place with Curryishott.

"Let me fight, Fangblade," Hirarii demanded.

"You'll die instantly; you're not strong enough to go out there," Fangblade replied bluntly.

"Then why did you put me in this stupid team anyways?" she yelled.

"If I didn't, then we would have a wandering Crusader in the battlefield," Fangblade sighed. He knew Hirarii was going to try to fight Tiger no matter what. It would've been worse if she went out there alone. Knowing that, he forced her into the Alpha Knights to avoid unnecessary conflict.

"You're only going to hurt him!" Hirarii argued. "It's like you think killing them is the only way to end this."

"It is, Hirarii," Fangblade lied to prevent further yelling. Hirarii clenched her teeth, and stormed out of the headquarters. Fangblade asked that Novinha followed her just in case. Outside, Novinha warned her not to leave, but Hirarii left anyways and she followed her.

When they arrived, Hydrange had become the next victim. Now they had no cleric, so Starlightzz arrived with FangBlade on the scene moments after Novinha and Hirarii's arrival. Even with more people, there was little progress. Kittyzor grew tired, and FangBlade had trapped her, preventing any further moves. Suuushi and NeoJunker were badly injured and couldn't fight anymore. Tiger then took that time to point his spear next to FangBlade's throat. No one moved, but then a rain of arrows came falling down and everyone had to shift away. Hirarii tackled Tiger, taking away his spear and giving FangBlade the opportunity to fight back. VietxHue grabbed onto Kittyzor, wondering what to do.

"You can't stop us unless you kill me," Kittyzor stated.

"Why did you do this to yourself in the first place," Viet asked.

"I needed that power," she replied. "And then I could take advantage of all my high level friends and get what I want."

"I won't regret killing you," Viet growled.

"Oh, but you can't kill me," Kittyzor teased. "I'm technically immortal."

"No one's immortal," Imphigenia argued. She grabbed onto Kittyzor and Viet backed away.

"Imphigenia you're not thinking about…" Novinha paused.

"It's the only way," Imphigenia replied. "Mecate did it, and so will I." Meanwhile, FangBlade had defeated Tiger since he had no weapon to fight or defend himself with. Tiger remained unconscious, and Shynobi carried him on his shoulder until the situation with Kittyzor was finished. Hirarii also fainted and Starlightzz carried her.

"Goodbye, Crystal" Imphigenia glared at Kittyzor.

"If you can," Kittyzor rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I can, and I don't care if I die too; as long as you're gone for good," she threatened.

"She's not going to…" FangBlade stared.

"She's going to…" Novinha choked in disbelief.

"What is she going to do?" Curryishott asked.

"No, Imphigenia!" FangBlade tried to stop her, but she already began to glow in bright light. Imphigenia smiled to everyone, and then closed her eyes to focus.

"Everyone grab onto me and Curryishott, now!" Starlightzz yelled. They all did as they were told, and as soon as everyone was together, they teleported miles back to the headquarters right before the light got too bright to see the earth. An explosion bloom where they had left; one far too great for anyone to survive. Kittyzor and Imphigenia were confirmed dead.

Chp 8 Four Heros

Four heroes and hundreds of civilians died from Kittyzor's wild massacre. Suuushi decided to quit being a member and started to enjoy life without fighting. Once Tiger woke up, he felt the same way. He had killed so many people, he didn't think he deserved to hold another weapon in his life or show his face to the public anymore. VietxHue continued to fight, but he didn't want to be a hero anymore but rather a normal person. With all the leaders gone, FangBlade took charge. Instead of one huge alliance, he cleverly arranged another two groups: one called the Great Five and the other Celestial Knights.

The Great Five were obviously consisted of the five strongest people in the world: FangBlade, Curryishott, Korwyn, Novinha, and Starlightzz, respectively. The Celestial Knights was basically a limited number of people below their rank. In addition, the Celestial Knights needed special a requirement that very few people in the world knew about. Ironically, Shynobi, NeoJunker, and Hirarii, the last of the members, all had this special ability. Even Curryishott was unaware of this special power, but FangBlade had witnessed it himself quite a few times.

Many years ago, there was a young ice mage in Bera named Mecate. She was not well known, but her beauty stunned many people. FangBlade knew her well, and one day Mecate was assaulted by another high level. FangBlade at that time was not strong enough to stop him, but Mecate fought back with an abnormal amount of energy. Eventually, she used too much of that energy uncontrollably and it consumed her life. The same thing happened to Imphigenia, except she allowed the energy to take her life. Novinha was a friend of Mecate, thus she was aware of this power too.

This power was a gift of the gods or rather a useful mutation. It enabled one to use multiple abilities from a variety of jobs, even though nature's law states that an individual can only follow one path and can only take on the abilities of that one job. This gift required intense homeostasis in the possessor body, which is why very few are able to control it or use it as an advantage.

FangBlade wanted the Celestial Knights to not only be the strongest people but also those secretly with this special ability. Since there were seven Knights in the previous group, Beta Knights, he decided to put the limit to seven for the Celestial Knights. These Knights served under FangBlade who now stationed the world's headquarters on an isolated island in Bera.

The Great Five lived separately, except for Starlightzz who was now Fangblade's wife. The Celestial Knights would also reside in FangBlade's mansion. Shynobi, NeoJunker, and Hirarii followed Fangblade and Starlightzz into the newly built headquarters. FangBlade decided to appoint the first few knights immediately, dubbing Shynobi the First Knight and NeoJunker the Second Knight. Although Hirarii had the special requirement, FangBlade didn't appoint her as a knight.

"I'll need to see more from you before you can become a knight," he stated.

"What if I don't want to be a knight," Hirarii glared.

"Then what else were you planning to do? Your mission is accomplished and your friend is dead."

"I'll go-"

"You can't return to Scania unless I give you permission to." Hirarii grin her teeth. Not knowing how to answer, she turned around and stormed out of the mansion.

_I never said I wanted to be a knight anyways_, Hirarii thought as she left. FangBlade shrugged and continued to address the Knights. He would later recruit more from around the world.

"Here's your first task which shall be completed by tomorrow evening," FangBlade stated. "Bring that girl back."

"Yes, My Lord," Shynobi and NeoJunker saluted.


	3. Maple Story Series Disclaimer!

Maple Story Series Disclaimer:

MSH and MSK is a fanfic based on the author's consent. This story contains several contents that are NOT TRUE. All respect should be given to the real people who possessed these characters. Here are some facts and issues:

I have ABSOLUTELY no relations to any of these characters, except Hirarii who is based on me. Characteristics/personalities were all made up by me and I never mean to criticize any of these players.

Tiger did NOT originally come from Bera (as far as I know). He always was a Scanian but after he quit, he came to Bera for a few days, and then Broa, then back to Scania.

Tiger is NOT Salleem's cousin.

Salleem is…I don't know where he's from. He's an immigrant, but I don't think he's from Bera.

I have NOTHING against Salleem. I only chose him as a victim/villain because I didn't know who else to chose from the rankings… Honestly, I know nothing about Salleem and when he even appeared on the rankings.

There is NO romance between me and Tiger

There is NO romance between Dolob and Heroine (as far as I know)

There is NO romance between NeoJunker and Keturah (once again, as far as I know)

There is NO romance between me and Loopedd (fact =) )

There IS romance between FangBlade and Starlightzz. They got married in Nov 2008 =O

Kittyz0r IS Tiger's ex-girlfriend. Once time, Kittyz0r messed with Tiger's account and Tiger got mad, cussing on smegas and in result was banned.

Yes, I did copy the plot of Part I from Dray86 and slightly JrMadness INTENTIONALLY since I love their videos so much.

KFC is Derek/SpriteFan2's thing…not NeoJunker's =P

Because of Tiger's rude behavior, Suuushi quit. (I did not insert this in the story because I don't know if this is real or not. However, it is possible because there is no other rumor of why Suuushi quit.)

Mecate is NOT Heroine's sister (far as I know). I made them sisters because they are both mages and they both kinda look alike…coincidentally…

Urajji is my friend…she wanted to be in the story which is why she became the main villain.

Were the Celestial Knights based on private servers and rebirths? Nope. That's another coincidental thing… But now that I think about it, wow it really is basically rebirth haha.

I do not own Maple Story. (yes I had to add this) Copyrights go to Nexon and Wizet, but when I was your age, only Wizet owned Maple Story…

Do I stalk these people? I'm sorry but I somewhat did, only due to curiosity. That way, I could make this story a bit more accurate.

I stalk so much that I capture screenshots of them =) I have almost every Bera player mentioned in my story.

No, Shynobi does not have a grudge…I hope… I just perceive him that way.

I never talked to these people, except Tiger himself. 3

Do I love Tiger? Yes I very much do. I believe he influenced many players back then and deserves more fame than FangBlade today…until I read a forum about him a few weeks ago and now I don't know what to believe…was Tiger a hero or a... **** in Scania? =(

In the story, I mentioned that Tiger's father died. I believe that this rumor is 99% possibly true. I've read this rumor countless times and I've also heard it from Tiger himself. Tiger was also being teased/stalked by other players which made him quit. This story was also given in JrMadness' animation (intentionally? I don't know). Gavin (Tiger) had a very sad life, which is why I want to respect him as much as I can.

FangBlade has no alliance with any of the "Celestial Knights" mentioned in here. He may be friends with most of them, but they are not his servants. (I hope)

I have no grudge against the people I killed in the fanfics. =( I'm sorry if I killed you, but a story can't be good if everyone lived. I picked the deaths based on job variety and...basically by random. (ex. killed of NeoJunker and Loopedd cuz there were too many sins).

I have limited knowledge of Maple Story since when I played, there were NO 4th jobs or pirates…or arans. Also, I've only played as a Crusader and Hunter since I always fail to exceed lvl 30 with the other jobs. I'm currently playing in a private server to gain some knowledge =) But I will NEVER include pirates or arans in my fanfics just because this is all taking place way too long ago before this happened.

I lived through this great age of Suuushi, Tiger, Shynobi, and FangBlade; that's why I know so much. I stopped playing right when FangBlade hit 200.

Curryishott, VietxHue, AnhRau all admit to be Asian. XD

Some people claim that Novinha is really a boy. Due to a lack of information collected on her and the only pieces of information I found, I believe she's actually a he too…(but not proven!)

Is FangBlade really a hot, buff Asian in his mid 20's? I don't know…but I really think that Myspace page is his…

Starlightzz's real name is Lana. Suuushi's real name is Susan. Tiger's real name is Gavin. Kittyz0r's real name is Crystal. I may have used these a few times in the story in case you're confused.

Note: Hirarii WAS my character, but I deleted her cuz I can't handle assassins. My main was named Lilamon. But if you see some things w/ Hirari (w/o the extra i) that could also be me. ^o^


	4. PART II Celestial Knights

Part II Celestial Knights

Chp 9 Shynobi's Specialty

Shynobi's specialty is simply all the abilities of a thief: an Assassin and a Bandit. NeoJunker was also an Assassin and partially a Page but rarely used its abilities. Hirarii was a Fighter and a Hunter. She could use the most variety of abilities compared to the two, but she was also weaker. FangBlade had asked the two gentlemen to retrieve Hirarii who previously left the mansion with her own volition.

"Why would His Lord want that weak girl anyways," Shynobi sighed. The next morning, they were out searching for Hirarii primarily around Henseys.

"You have to admit she's pretty strong for her level," NeoJunker denied. "Still, she doesn't even have her 4th job yet." After two hours, they found Hirarii in the Free Market talking to one of the salesman. However, once they found her, she caught sight of them as well and fled immediately. They ran until they surrounded her in one ally.

"God dammit, leave me alone!" Hirarii yelled.

"Sorry Hirarii, under FangBlade's orders," NeoJunker laughed.

"Then do I have to fight my way out?"

"If you can, that is," Shynobi teased. Hirarii glared at Shynobi and attacked him first. Shynobi whirled around and swiftly attacked her with a bandit combo attack. Hirarii reacted with shout, throwing Shynobi against the wall but unhurt. NeoJunker threw his stars as Hirarii counterattacked with diamond arrows. She used an arrow bomb to cover up the battlefield in dense smoke and flee. However, she tripped over something and it then wrapped around her whole body.

"Struggling will only make it worse," Shynobi sighed.

"Get your stupid shadow partner off me," Hirarii fumed.

"I rather not," Shynobi replied amused. They dragged her back to the mansion while Hirarii continuously tried multiple abilities to set herself free. She couldn't teleport or use a scarecrow for substitute.

"Careful, you're going to tire yourself out like that," NeoJunker warned. She was tired, but pretended not to be. FangBlade was not as easily fooled.

"You can release her now," he stated.

"Yes, My Lord," Shynobi summoned the shadow partner back and they both walked away so FangBlade could have a private conversation.

"You could do a lot of good with that power," Fangblade noted.

"You would be able to find a lot of stronger people out there in my place," Hirarii replied.

"Anyone can be stronger if only they have the will to do so. Your boyfriend makes a very good example."

"I don't have a boyfriend."

"But you know who I'm talking about," FangBlade teased. Hirarii rolled her eyes but chuckled. She was starting to respect him a little more.

"What you did out there that day was beyond expected," FangBlade continued. "Arrow rain, teleport, flash jump, and power strike at the same time just to draw Tiger away. That's really amazing; using all four job abilities. You know, Shynobi and NeoJunker wouldn't be able to do that. That's why you would have the most potential."

"Then why didn't you let me fight," Hirarii frowned.

"Losing such a talented girl out there would be a pity." Hirarii blushed. "I noticed you had something special since I saw you argue your way to Scania. I wouldn't let any random person go through you know. I can train you to be at your best and then you wouldn't have to faint as much."

"What do I need to do," Hirarii gave in, ignoring the last comment.

"First work your way to become a Hero, and then I'll give you a final test to see if you are qualified to become my knight."

"It's a deal."

Chp 10 FangBlade Was Like a Father

Fangblade was like a father to Hirarii. She was an orphan and an only child. Salleem and Tiger were the two who replaced her family since childhood times. Now that Salleem was gone and Tiger was stuck in Scania, FangBlade took care of her. Hirarii worked hard for a month, training early in the morning and sleeping late. Soon she was lvl140, only ten levels lower than Shynobi and NeoJunker, and was qualified to take FangBlade's test. He used a stimulator to test her strength. Now Hirarii could control her special abilities more and passed the test easily. Fangblade later dubbed her as the Third Knight.

"You now serve under me, Hirarii," FangBlade stated after the formal ceremony. "You said you wanted to protect Bera from what you could not protect before that harmed your friends. From here on, you shall protect Bera with your soul." Then he pinned a badge on her as a proof of their contract.

"I will not fail you, FangBlade," Hirarii bowed and then left to join the other two knights.

"By the way," FangBlade called. They all turned around.

"You can only address me as 'My Lord' now," he winked.

"Yes, My Lord," Hirarii smiled.

"Great job," NeoJunker congratulated as they walked down the silent hallway. "You really worked hard. Hey, let's all go grab some KFC to celebrate."

"Lol, sure," Hirarii laughed, but when they got to the front gate, Shynobi had something else in mind.

"Hold it," Shynobi spoke. "Let's see if you really deserve that medal."

"Oh no, not again," NeoJunker moaned. "Give it a break already, dude."

"You still challenge me?" Hirarii glared.

"A loser stays a loser until they can win," Shynobi stated. Over the month, Shynobi and Hirarii had many arguments because Shynobi always called her weak. Hirarii would then challenge him to fights to prove that she wasn't but always lost. NeoJunker says that he's only treating Hirarii that way because he feels for AnhRau, 1LastBreath, Hydrange, and Imphigenia: all who would've became Celestial Knights if only their lives weren't taken away.

"This one will be more interesting," Shynobi began. "Since you're a knight now, this will be the final challenge. So if you lose, then you'll forever be a loser, got that?"

"Please don't accept it," NeoJunker mumbled to himself.

"Bring it," Hirarii growled. As usual, the fought fiercely and although Hirarii could use more abilities, Shynobi had the advantage since he mastered the dark sight ability. He used it countless times to avoid Hirarii's attacks and thus won again.

"Just as I thought, still a loser," Shynobi stated. "Though I have to admit you're somewhat stronger."

_Somewhat isn't good enough_, Hirarii thought to herself.

"Rematch, now," Hirarii demanded.

"What's the point? You're just going to lose again," Shynobi rolled his eyes. Hirarii elicited him to fight by punching him in the face. She missed because Shynobi used dark sight again, but he didn't catch himself when she tripped him right afterwards.

"Okay that's it," Shynobi growled and got up from the ground. He charged up his special throwing star ability as Hirarii charged her special shout move that formed into a phoenix. They both unleashed it at the same time, but there was no explosion. Instead, both attacks were absorbed by a person standing between them.

"Whatever this fight is about, I'm sure we can settle this peacefully, hm?" she blinked. They are stared at her, not knowing when she had popped up. She must've been pretty strong in order to cancel both Shynobi and Hirarii's attack at the same time.

"And may I ask who you are madam?" NeoJunker stared.

_She looks really familiar_, Shynobi thought.

"I am Heroine, pleased to meet all of you. I am looking for the great FangBlade. Perhaps you know where he is?" she asked.

"Yeah. Come, we'll take you to him," Hirarii gestured and ignored Shynobi.

"Heroine," Shynobi asked. "Are you…related to Mecate?"

"Yes, she was my older sister," Heroine replied sweetly.

"I thought you looked familiar…"

"Heh, but not as famous as you Shynobi, Bera's first successor."

"That was a long time ago," Shynobi replied humbly. Hirarii knocked on the door, and then FangBlade called for their presence.

Chp 11 Heroine Entered

Heroine entered the conference room where FangBlade and Starlightzz talked casually. They were not shocked to see a visitor. In fact, FangBlade had asked Heroine to come in the first place.

"So you want to become a knight?" FangBlade asked.

"Yes, I want to be stronger to prevent the same thing that happened to my sister," Heroine replied.

"Are you scared of death?" he questioned. Heroine paused for a moment to think. She didn't know how to answer him. She definitely did not want to end up like Mecate, whose life was taken away at a young age, due to the strange ability that they both possessed.

"No, not death," she finally said. "I'm scared of losing control. You said you could help me with that, right?"

"I can and I will."

"And in return I just need to give you my servitude?" FangBlade nodded. "Then I will serve you."

"Perfect, your test will be tomorrow at noon."

"Thank you Your Honor," Heroine bowed and walked away. When she came out of the room, the knights introduced each other to her. Heroine stayed in the mansion that night as a guest. If she passed the test tomorrow, she could live there permanently. Since the rooms were divided by gender, Hirarii's room was close to Heroine's. They talked to each other for a long time that night. Hirarii noted that Heroine was a very nice girl. She was also younger and very gentle. It was hard to believe that she was such a strong Cleric and Ice Mage with her fragileness. Heroine asked about Hirarii's background too, mainly wondering why she was fighting with Shynobi when she arrived.

"It's nothing," Hirarii smiled. "We do that all the time because he thinks I'm a weakling."

"Well, it looks pretty serious to me," Heroine stared. "I guess there's no other way to settle it huh? Shynobi's like that; it's not that he hates the weak but he doesn't like seeing people act like one. He's just trying to make you stronger." Heroine knew Shynobi well through Mecate but never really talk to him. Her evaluation made Hirarii less furious, but still very determined.

The next morning, everyone sat outside in the courtyard to watch the test. Heroine came fully prepared, expecting the same test that Hirarii took. However, they were on plain grass and not on a stimulated training ground.

"I have decided to change the test just for this one time," FangBlade stated. "That way I can see both of you at your full potential."

"What do you mean by both?" Heroine questioned.

"Sorry," a voice called out. "This is basically my fault." A Bowmaster walked towards Heroine and introduced himself as another knight wannabe. He seemed like a mature guy but also one who loves to have nonstop fun. Because he just arrived that morning, FangBlade wanted to test them both at the same time and thus forcing them to battle each other.

"Isn't that…" NeoJunker stared.

"The strongest archer in the world, Bowmaster Dolob of Bera," Hirarii continued. Since she was part Bowmaster herself, Hirarii knew a lot about Dolob. However, Dolob and Heroine barely knew each other, besides the fact that their worldwide rank was right next to each other.

When their battle began, Heroine took the lead, rapidly teleporting to different locations so that Dolob couldn't unleash an accurate hit. Eventually Dolob caught up, and used his magical birds for help. Apparently Dolob specialized with both Bowmaster and Marksman abilities. At times he would try to use Fire Mage abilities but they were not strong. Heroine stuck with Priest and Ice Mage abilities but underestimated Dolob's capabilities. While his bird snuck behind and attacked Heroine, he casted an arrow to seal her power, making her unable to move which then ended the battle.

Heroine's lost did not meant she failed however; FangBlade accepted both of them as knights. They were very skilled in using multiple abilities and FangBlade believed that they both deserved the position. Since Heroine came first, she became the 4th knight and then Dolob became the 5th. Day by day, the five knights grew closer. They had no serious arguments and completed many of FangBlade's orders together. Months passed without a response from any other people willing to become a knight (or they fail the test). The Celestial Knights did not expect a newcomer anytime soon, but he arrived at the most unexpected time.

Chp 12 Dolob Admitted

Dolob admitted that he found Heroine quite interesting, but only to NeoJunker since he did not fully trust Shynobi and he didn't want to tell Hirarii in case it leaked out to Heroine. NeoJunker on the other hand did not have a lover and didn't care about not having one. He knows that eventually they will meet and he will wait for her as long as it takes. Shynobi had a girl many years ago who unfortunately died of illness. Ever since then, he had no heart to search for another one. Hirarii and Heroine never had boyfriends since they never paid much attention to finding romance.

"A boyfriend is just like a boy who is your best friend," Heroine said. "I'm fine with just being friends." Unknowingly, Heroine also felt the same for Dolob. She had never met a bowman as carefree and warm-hearted as Dolob. To him, Heroine was the same; he had never met a magician who was so enthusiastic and magical. Heroine planned to find Hirarii a lover and took her to Henesys.

At Henesys, there are many couples and many gatherings where people usually meet. They wore disguises to cover their famous faces. Hirarii doubt that she will find anyone in a random group of people. On top of that, if she ever found a guy, she would most likely end up protecting him instead of the other way around since she was among the strongest people in the world. Heroine agreed and they gave up after hours. Dolob invited Heroine to take a walk though the town of love, Amoria, leaving Hirarii to walk back alone.

In general, Hirarii was pretty dense. She sensed no romance between Dolob and Heroine even though it was pretty obvious. On the way, Shynobi called her for assistance.

"Are you busy?" he asked.

"Just on my way back; need something?" Hirarii asked.

"There's this strange guy that I ran into near Kerning City. He has a lot of bags with him and he's pretty strong too. Think you can take him down?'  
"Oh, so you can't take him on yourself?" she teased.

"…Are you coming or not?"

"Be right there."

The boy was also a Night Lord and no younger than Hirarii. His fighting techniques were alien to Shynobi. Even though Shynobi could kill him, he had no intention to do more than to paralyze him for a moment to speak. When Hirarii arrived, Shynobi asked for her to do so since she could paralyze one with an arrow using bowmen techniques.

"I thought you were the faster one," Hirarii glared.

"Oh just do it," Shynobi rolled his eyes. "And what's with the disguise?"

"It's to avoid noobs like you," she teased and took off the extra equipment on her. The boy expected Hirarii to use her sword, and snatched it faster than she could reach for it.

"Okay, no mercy for you," Shynobi growled. He pointed his claw at him as it transformed into a miniature canon. That was Shynobi's special attack which he only used in case of an emergency or if he grows impatient. It was so powerful that it is nearly unavoidable in every way no matter how fast the opponent is.

"Wait, you're gonna hurt him!" Hirarii yelled. Shynobi didn't stop and unleashed the large energy wave at the boy. With no other choice, Hirarii jumped in front of the boy and blocked the attack using Iron Wall. Since she didn't master the skill, it barely protected both of them. The boy then quickly fastened Hirarii around her waist and teleported a few feet away. They were both slightly hurt.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Hirarii smiled. He slightly blushed.

"Idiot, who told you to stand in front of my canon," Shynobi sighed.

"Who told you to hurt him?" Hirarii argued back. "I thought you just asked for him to be paralyzed."

"You'd still hurt him if you tried to paralyze him. Besides, he asked for it."

"What?" the boy jumped. "You're the one who attacked me first!"

"Cause you didn't respond to me when I asked where you were heading to. You know you look pretty suspicious when you carry a lot of bags with you."

"I was listening to my iPod! Couldn't you tell?"

"Not likely, he never notices anything," Hirarii smirked. "Um…you can let go of me now..."

"Oh, right! Sorry," he realized and removed his arms from around her waist. Hirarii stared at him; he looked very familiar.

"Since you're a Night Lord and can use Teleport, you must be looking for FangBlade," Shynobi concluded.

"Yep, I was just on my way there until you attacked me," he noted.

"Ah, you're Loopedd, right?" Hirarii realized.

"Loopedd?" Shynobi questioned. "The second strongest in Broa? You're Broa's top Night Lord?"

"Glad that you figured it out now," Loopedd smiled.

"Strange, you don't look the same up close."

"What is that supposed to mean…"

"He means that he's jealous that there's a stronger Night Lord in Bera now," Hirarii answered. "You must be tired traveling all the way from Broa. Let's get you to the mansion." Shynobi rolled his eyes. Inside, he was a bit jealous since he hasn't faced a strong Night Lord for years. However, he wasn't going to let Loopedd be dubbed the Night Lord of Bera just because he might reside there from now on.

"Oh, let me handle those," Loopedd called to Hirarii. Hirarii already threw his heavy luggage over her shoulder with little effort.

"It's okay, I got it," Hirarii winked.

"Dang…you're really strong," Loopedd blinked. He suddenly felt a little scared to approach her.

"I am a Hero after all. By the way, remember to give me back my sword later."

"Oh, right." He pulled the sword out from his pouch to ensure that he still had it.

_Why do I suddenly forget so much all the sudden?_ he thought_. Am I already falling for the Beran girl?_

Chp 13 Loopedd Returned

Loopedd returned Hirarii's sword when they arrived at the mansion. He immediately went to consult with FangBlade. Loopedd originally came to Bera to experience new things. He thought there wouldn't be a better opportunity to do so than becoming a Celestial Knight.

"Well, since you're the best Night Lord in the world, the stimulator would most likely be too easy for you," FangBlade thought. "And you already fought Shynobi…"

"I wouldn't mind doing it again, Your Honor," Loopedd chuckled, knowing that he would win.

"Hm, Hirarii," FangBlade called.

"Yes, My Lord?" Hirarii slid in from the doorway.

"Do you mind fighting Loopedd?"

"Not at all, My Lord."

"Woah wait a second," Loopedd stopped him. "I won't fight girls."

"Everyone else already fought, other than NeoJunker but he's busy right now," FangBlade stated. "So your only choice is Hirarii." Loopedd gave in; he'd have to hurt a girl just once to get the position. When the battle began, Loopedd waited for Hirarii to make the first move. No one else was around to watch their battle. Hirarii didn't attack either, and they stared at each other for a long moment.

"Why won't you attack?" Hirarii asked.

"Because I don't want to hurt girls," Loopedd replied.

"You'll need to if you want the position."

"There are other ways," Loopedd corrected. His shadow slithered across the field, too fast to see, and emerged from behind Hirarii. She removed her sword from her pocket and casually stabbed the invisible figure without turning around. The shadow disappeared quickly.

"Nice, you could sense that?" Loopedd asked impressed.

"Shynobi used that on me too many times," Hirarii replied. "I've gotten used to it." Loopedd figured that if he took away Hirarii's sword, she would be defenseless and his victory would come fast. He had done it once, and he sought to do it again. For the time, Hirarii used only Hero abilities while observing Loopedd's capabilities. She concluded that his second strongest job was an Ice Mage, combining Haste and Teleport to unleash the most unbelievable amount of speed. Without knowing it, Hirarii's sword disappeared out of her hands. Still, he did not know her second strength so she used the same trick as before: Arrow Rain. The random hailing of arrows slowed Loopedd's speed, giving Hirarii enough time to charge up for a special arrow blow. Loopedd could not avoid it and canceled the attack with Meso Bomb. In the dense smoke, Hirarii stabbed him with a paralysis arrow. He twitched abruptly when it punctured his skin, but then turned around and shocked Hirarii by using his fingers to carry lightning directly into her chest. Hirarii screamed and flew several feet away from the impact and Loopedd remained stunned. He was barely able to reach for the arrow and pull it out of his body. Once he was free, he ran up to Hirarii who was breathing heavily on the ground. FangBlade ran over to observe.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Loopedd cried.

"That was too much, Loopedd," FangBlade warned.

"It was an accident, I swear," Loopedd pleaded. "She just scared me from behind and...I just naturally reacted."

"Anyways, you hit her directly near the heart," FangBlade observed. "It's highly likely that her nervous system won't be able to respond for a while, even if we used Heal." Hirarii continued to breathe heavily and had no physical response. They were both highly concerned about whether she could fully recover without any permanent effects.

Two days passed and Hirarii laid in her bed unconscious. Every day, the Knights would visit her. Despite severely hurting Hirarii, FangBlade promoted Loopedd to a Knight. FangBlade actually had confidence that she will recover soon, but Loopedd on the other hand still felt guilty for hurting her.

"I think your boyfriend would like to know about this," FangBlade told Hirarii, hoping that she heard him. "I'll ask him to come over tomorrow. Maybe you'll wake up faster."

"Oh my gosh, Hirarii!" Tiger screamed when he saw her unconscious in bed after running down the hallway. Loopedd had been sitting next to her nearly all afternoon. Tiger ran up to her bed and grabbed Hirarii's hand.

"Can you hear me, Hirarii?" Tiger asked squeezing her hand. "FangBlade told me you were hurt so I came here as fast as I could."

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault," Loopedd sighed. Tiger looked up and saw his sincerity.

"It's okay dude," Tiger smiled. "It's just an accident." Loopedd felt slightly better, hearing that from the legendary Tiger.

"Tiger…" Hirarii moaned. Tiger and Loopedd jumped.

"You're awake!" Tiger shouted. Hirarii just blinked.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"In your room," Loopedd answered. "You've been out for two days, thanks to me. I'm really sorry, Hirarii."

"Oh…" Hirarii paused. "But…who are you?"

Chp 14 Who Are You

"Who are you?" Hirarii asked. Tiger and Loopedd stared at each other and agreed to call in everyone else.

"Hirarii, are you ok?" Dolob asked worriedly.

"Are you hungry? I can go get you something," Heroine volunteered.

"Can she even hear us?" NeoJunker puzzled.

"Hey kid, how many fingers am I holding up?" Shynobi asked.

"One…" Hirarii blinked.

"Which one?"

"Your middle finger."

"Okay something's wrong, she has no reaction," Shynobi concluded, expecting a good yelling.

"So you can't remember any of us?" NeoJunker asked. Hirarii shook her head. FangBlade and Starlightzz entered, asking the same question. Hirarii couldn't recognize them either. Starlightzz tried to Heal her amnesia, but nothing worked.

"I can't do it," Starlightzz frowned. "Only special kinds of magicians can heal this type of amnesia."

"Do you know of any?" FangBlade asked.

"No, sorry."

"Well, it can't be too serious," FangBlade observed. "If she can remember Tiger, then she only lost a small amount of memory. Hirarii, can you remember the last thing that happened before you woke up?"

"Um, I think it was just another random day," Hirarii thought. "I went out to train with Salleem and that's just about all I can remember."

"She doesn't know what happened to Salleem," Tiger concluded. "Then it's about a year's worth of memory."

"Actually, I might know who can help us," Loopedd suggested. Everyone followed Loopedd to his friend. She was just relaxing on a bench at a park while concealing her identity. Loopedd walked up to her, described the issue, and asked for the favor. She leaned over and saw everyone else, the most famous people in the world, waiting for her response.

"I probably can," she agreed. "Who's the victim?" Tiger pushed along Hirarii towards her.

"Please heal her," Tiger begged. She placed her hand on her forehead.

"Ah, only her PNS is slightly damaged," she observed. "This won't take long."

"PNS?" everyone else asked.

"It stands for peripheral nervous system," Heroine noted. "She meant that Hirarii was only affected on the outside of her brain. All magicians have to master anatomy." After a minute, she took her hand off her forehead and stepped back. Hirarii opened her eyes and blinked a few times.

"Did it work?" Tiger asked. Hirarii jumped back.

"Tiger!?" she yelled. "Since when were you standing right next to me...wait why are you even here?"

"It worked," FangBlade chuckled. Hirarii glared at FangBlade, knowing that it was his doing.

"Thanks so much," Loopedd bowed.

"Anytime," she smiled and sat back down. Everyone started to walk back home, but NeoJunker turned back.

"Are you just going to spend your afternoon sitting there?" he asked.

"None of your business," she teased.

"C'mon, don't throw your life away like that. For helping my friend, how bout I treat you for some coffee?"

"How sweet," she laughed. "I'll think about it."

"Have you thought about my invitation, Keturah?" FangBlade called from behind NeoJunker.

"Still thinking about it," Keturah replied and got up from the bench. "By the way, you know better than to speak of my name in public." She walked pass NeoJunker, and slipped a piece of paper into his hand.

"Oh well, there's only one spot left," FangBlade shrugged and began to walk back. "She better think faster." NeoJunker followed him and read the piece of paper when he wasn't looking. It had Keturah's phone number on it.

_Keturah_, NeoJunker thought. _Could she be Bera's top Mage?_

Chp 15 That Night

That night NeoJunker called Keturah. She was busy in the afternoon so they didn't get a chance to go out for some coffee. He couldn't believe that he didn't recognize her as Keturah from the very beginning. FangBlade had invited her to join the Knights, so she must have the ability. Nearly every day, NeoJunker would go out to see Keturah and nobody really said anything about it.

"Go home, Your Honor" Hirarii glared and dragged him towards the portal of dimensions.

"But I'm technically am at home," Tiger teased.

"You have things to do in Scania," Hirarii reminded him.

"Is this the treatment I get for coming all this way just to see you? You know, I was really worried." Hirarii stopped pushing him and looked down.

"There's no need to," Hirarii faked a smile. "I can take care of myself, thank you. Please return to Scania, Your Honor."

"Stop calling me that," Tiger frowned. "There's no rank between us." Hirarii looked down again, and he figured that it was no use.

"I'll see you later then," Tiger whispered and left. FangBlade put his hand on Hirarii's shoulder.

"Why do you hate him?" he asked. "Your boyfriend's going through a lot for you."

"I don't hate him…" Hirarii responded. "And he's not my boyfriend, My Lord."

"You can't lie to me," FangBlade frowned. "Is there a reason why you don't accept his presence?"

"He's THE Tiger," Hirarii sighed and walked away. "Please don't tell anyone about this, My Lord." FangBlade understood. It was because Tiger was popular and he would have many fan girls to choose from and Hirarii didn't believe that she could be a better match to Tiger. Tiger was an honorable knight, and that's all she wanted to see him as. FangBlade knew what she was going through and he swore one day to fix it. From then on, FangBlade rarely mentioned Tiger's name.

The other knights have no clue about Tiger and Hirarii, but NeoJunker and Keturah were becoming obvious. One day, NeoJunker waited for Keturah for two hours and then decided that something was wrong. He called the Knights to search for her, but she could not be found by the end of the day.

"Damn it," NeoJunker cursed. "If a strong Mage like her can be kidnapped, then this is serious." They searched for another hour after dusk. Then Dolob caught something.

"There's something bad around here," he marked.

"Is it Keturah?" NeoJunker asked.

"No, it doesn't feel like her," Dolob thought. "But…it's really strong…and it's not normal."

"From where?" Shynobi asked.

"The…ground…" Hirarii detected. Since they were both bowmen, their senses were stronger than everyone else. Dolob and Hirarii agreed to break the ground around where they were standing using an Arrow Bomb. Sure enough, there was a tunnel beneath filled with cold air. They took the passage which led them to a dark, wet cave. Only the sound of water dripping in the distance was auditable.

"This doesn't look like a place we should be hanging around in," Heroine noted. "We should leave."

"Wait, I can feel her!" NeoJunker jumped. He swiftly ran off deeper into the cave, jumping over large rocks and splashing into small puddles. Everyone else had no choice but to follow him to make sure he doesn't find trouble. NeoJunker found Keturah tied up behind metal bars in a small corner between rocks. Instead of looking for a switch, he slashed the bars with his dagger and freed Keturah.

"We got to leave now," Keturah said.

"What's going on?" NeoJunker asked. "Who did this to you?"

"It's more like _what_ did," Keturah corrected. "I'm not sure but it's not a normal monster." She took his hand and ran towards the others. A large blob of black clouds abruptly seeped from the ground and formed between them. NeoJunker used Iron Wall to protect Keturah and Hirarii did the same on the other side. The dark matter transformed into a being with multiple sharp scythes, and quickly slashed everyone around it. NeoJunker fell back, but Loopedd jumped in front of Hirarii and took the hit instead. Meanwhile, Dolob summoned an ice bird to fight and distract the unknown being while everyone settled. Keturah was furious, and unleashed an arrow of fire at the darkness, incinerating the being until it turned to vapor and disappeared.

Chp 16 Keturah Dragged

Keturah dragged everyone back to the mansion where Heroine quickly healed NeoJunker while Hirarii healed Loopedd. They barely stopped to consider what just attacked them.

"You saved my life," Keturah cried.

"Anything for you," NeoJunker smiled. Heroine left them alone and checked on Loopedd. Meanwhile, FangBlade entered the room and marked that he heard how Keturah defeated the darkness. He congratulated her and awarded her with the last position of the Celestial Knights. Keturah figured that she wanted to stay with NeoJunker, now officially her boyfriend, as much as possible and therefore accepted the position. In the other room, Hirarii successfully fully recovered Loopedd's wound.

"Think if it as my punishment for hurting you earlier," Loopedd suggested.

"You don't need a punishment," Hirarii frowned. "That was just an accident."

"But maybe you need one," Shynobi mumbled.

"I heard that," Hirarii sighed.

"Good," Shynobi puffed. "You know everyone's always worried about you. We wouldn't have so much trouble if you could just learn to take care of yourself."

"Dude, this isn't her fault," Loopedd glared.

"She knows very well it's her fault."

"Hey guys, stop it!" Dolob yelled.

"Um, what's going on?" Heroine questioned while entering the room.

"Don't blame Hirarii for this," Loopedd shouted.

"Face it she can't even protect herself from the simplest things!" Shynobi argued back. "She couldn't protect Loopedd or 1LastBreath or AnhRau or Hydrange. Plus, Imphigenia used her life to save you because you couldn't save the world from your evil little friend, Tiger."

"Shynobi!" Dolob grinned.

"Enough!" Hirarii roared as she slammed the table light. She walked up to Shynobi and stared at him hard.

"Oh no," Heroine sighed. "Please, guys just let it go."

"Outside, now," Hirarii demanded. Shynobi rolled his eyes and walked out the door with Hirarii behind him. Everyone else including NeoJunker and Keturah followed them.

"You may be right," Hirarii whispered. "But I don't need anyone to protect me."

"You've already lost," Shynobi sighed. "This battle will be pointless." Hirarii drew her sword and whirled around, stopping right next to his neck.

"I will be the judge of that."

"Fine, last time."

"They're going to fight?" Keturah questioned.

"It's inevitable," Heroine frowned. "They've been at this since the minute I arrived."

"They've been like this since they met," NeoJunker corrected. "Hirarii won't rest until she has beaten Shynobi."

"This is ridiculous!" Loopedd groaned. "Stop this nonsense!"

"No, let them fight," Heroine stated. "At least just this once…" This time Hirarii was more aware of Shynobi's moves. They did not fight for at least three months, and either Hirarii had improved greatly since or Shynobi had underestimated her. Although Shynobi could attack Hirarii just as well as before, Hirarii's endurance strengthened and he could not throw her off her feet. For a second, Shynobi thought he saw Hirarii's eyes glow bright magenta. After that, Hirarii punched Shynobi unexpectedly in the stomach with an unbelievable amount of force. Shynobi fell backwards but Hirarii catch him right before his fall. She gave him her shoulder to lean on.

"What...was that?" Shynobi groaned, feeling the pain in his abdominal.

"Huh?" Hirarii asked puzzled. "What was what?"

"You're eyes were glowing," Shynobi stated.

"You must be imaging things," Hirarii rolled her eyes. "I must've hit you too hard."

"It does hurt a lot," Shynobi admitted. Hirarii chuckled and quickly healed his stomach pain, feeling accomplished.

"Congrats, you're no longer a noob," Shynobi smiled. "You can now call yourself a Celestial Knight."


	5. End Note

End Note

Please read Maple Story Series Disclaimer before engaging yourself into asking or commenting stuff related to these characters. MSH is the story that takes place prior to MSK. I wrote MSK first, but you may read it whichever way you want. A sequel to the a future story, Endless Stars, will be released soon.

MSH now has an animated series. Simply go to this link and click on an episode to watch. Finished animating NOT guaranteed!

.com/user/winxmon#p/c/57CD5A5B2B9DFA05

Thanks for reading the MSK series =)


End file.
